Containerized shipping was developed during World War II to expedite the delivery of war materials. Today, 17,000 shipping containers arriving daily in U.S. ports offering commercial enterprises an efficient, cost saving means of providing raw materials and inventory to customers around the world. The efficiencies achieved through containerized shipping have made “just-in-time” manufacturing possible for large segments of the world economy. It is estimated that ninety percent of all international trade is conducted using this shipping means.
Containerized shipping is susceptible to tampering. While only a few years ago tampering was largely an economic problem, in today's environment, containerized shipping may also be used as a vehicle for terror. With respect to terrorism, the shipping container may be used as a delivery means for a whole host of weapons. Terrorists may also see the shipping container as a target—as a means to disrupt the world economy in general and our domestic economy in particular.
Securing a shipping container is no easy task. A typical container 40 ft.×8 ft.×8 ft. with a maximum weight of 45,000 pounds. A smaller 20-ft. size can hold 35,000 pounds. Inspecting each container is a daunting, if not impossible, task. Large cargo ships can carry up to 6,000 containers. Korea and Japan are building container ships designed to carry 8,000 containers in an effort to handle a possible doubling in the volume of overall trade in the next decade. Less than two percent of all containers are ever inspected—with few U.S. Customs personal available for such duties. The U.S. alone has over 360 ports, many near major population centers.
Various approaches have been suggested for improving the security of shipping containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,247 (Patent '247) issued to Mills discloses a cable security device for securing cargo doors on a transport container. The cables securing the door are joined together through a security device that detects when the cables are disconnected or cut. The device becomes secure once a security code is entered into the keypad device that controls the locking mechanism. The security device sends and receives a signal via a cellular telephone network to and from a remote data collection facility. The signal is transmitted through a high frequency signaling device attached to a cargo container through the use of a cable that is positioned through the closing mechanisms of the shipping container so as to monitor the opening of the door of the shipping container. Patent '247 fails to monitor access to the shipping container at locations other than the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,996 issued to Houser (Patent '996) discloses a sealing device that provides electronic monitoring of the status of the seal on containers that are bonded. The sealing means can communicate with a remote location such that status of the seal can be reported to a remote location. If the seal is broken, the date of the breakage is ascertainable. In one embodiment, the device is attached to the closing means of a container. The device comprises a circuit (electrical or light) that when broken causes a change in the status of the seal. Patent '996 does not teach a means for reporting intrusions to a container where the sealing device is not disturbed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,793 to Haimovich (Patent '793) discloses an electronic monitoring apparatus in which an object is sealed with a cable with a known electrical signature. Circuitry senses a change in the electrical signature when the cable is removed from a securing means or if cut. The communication is by means of encrypted electronic communication.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,563 to Kadner (Patent '563) discloses a seal system integrated circuit with a special CMOS gate-array technology that can be utilized to build inexpensive tamper-resistant electronic seals. Change in seal status is recorded and stored in a database. Seals can be interrogated by a hand held seal reader/verifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,306 issued to Leon (Patent '306) discloses a lock for use in the transportation industry with a keypad for securing and monitoring the status of the lock via hand held activators. The lock attaches to a latching handle. Each lock has a log history containing the number of complete and incomplete opening transactions, when they occurred and the operator codes associated therewith. The '306 patent does not disclose integrating the circuitry throughout the sides of the shipping container. Patent '306 does not disclose interrogating the shipping container by a remote interrogation device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,025B (Patent '025B) issued to Leon is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,306 and discloses an external lock for transportation industry with a keyboard and hand held activator programmable by a central system and activators via transmitters and receivers. The locks are opened by IR transmission of the appropriate codes or by keypad entries. The locking device maintains a transaction history containing the number of complete and incomplete opening transactions, when they occurred and the operator codes associated therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,441 issued to Woolley (Patent '441) discloses an electronic tag sensor system and method for monitoring objects in storage or in transit. Each tag contains circuitry for communicating information relating an object to be tracked and in relation to other objects to be tracked having like sensor tags attached. In an embodiment, the system is used in conjunction with a shipping container to detect unauthorized opening of the shipping container. Patent '441 does not contemplate integrating the tag or its circuitry within the shipping container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,876 issued to Woolley, discloses a system and method for managing assets with active control tags where one or more electronic tags are used to track items in transit. The electronic tags communicate through RF and IR. The electronic tags contain memory for storing information regarding position of the tag and the status of the tag (attach/detach) in relation to the asset to be tracked in transit. Patent '876 does not contemplate integrating the tag or its circuitry within the shipping container to be tracked.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,396 issued to Stobbe (Patent '396) discloses an electronic seal for a casing which records logistics data, time of change in the seal state, time zone, as well as other information in a memory. The sealing strip and locking device control the counter. The data is not displayed without disengagement of the seal wire from the seal body. There is no interrogation or transmission of a signal to a receiving unit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,406,263, 5,646,592, and 5,831,531 issued to Tuttle disclose a transceiver tag having a continuity circuit which records connection fidelity between two nodes that span an open/closed portion of a container. The transceiver tag is monitored by a computer controlled transceiver unit that is capable of interrogating the container status. In addition, the patents also discloses continuity of the security system transceiver tag to include an entry/exit door in the framework. While the transceiver unit may be incorporated into the structure of the container, the continuity circuit comprises only two nodes.
Collectively, the cited references disclose means for providing a level of security for shipping containers and for interrogating the security means for certain data relating to the shipping container. What is missing from the references are means to:                detect any breach of the shipping container and means to provide transit status information to the shipper and the receiver without directed interrogation of the security system;        stop the container at any inspection point (or conduct other action such as but not limited to surveillance) if a breach has occurred and/or if the container contains specific cargo identified by authorities;        load a list of all the items shipped in a container on a monitoring station using any personal computer connected to a worldwide network;        connect a personal computer to a worldwide network and synchronize a security device timer installed in the cargo container with a corresponding virtual timer at the monitoring station;        protect the integrity of the overall container system by using a different encryption key for each container security device; and        activate the security system by closing the container doors without entering passwords or pushing buttons.        
What would be useful is a tamper-resistant system and method for securing a shipping container wherein the system and method would detect any breach of the shipping container, report transit status information of the shipping container without directed interrogation, and allow a monitoring station to take remedial action in the event that the container contains an item of interest to authorized law enforcement agencies.